by J. P. Comeau
“Maybe we could make it an annual trip.”
That gave me hope that she might be in love with me, too. Even though we had made our relationship official, I often had my doubts. Her carefree attitude was both a blessing and a curse. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was one of the reasons she kept me at bay because her life motto was to go with the flow. She could easily wake up any morning and decide that she didn’t want to be with me.
Whereas I, on the other hand, was a bit more rooted.
“Maybe I can get Mr. Truman to purchase some properties here, and then you can tag along on business trips.”
“That would be fun. The Truman's sure have expanded their empire all over the world, haven’t they?”
I couldn’t even remember all of the countries where they owned properties. “They sure have, and a lot of that is because of Richard and Jake. Jake is the one who pushed his father to go outside his comfort level. For years Mr. Truman focused on acquiring properties in every state, but when Jake showed him the possibilities of expanding internationally, that became his main focus.”
“I bet you’ve had food from a bunch of other countries, too.”
My first thought was how I wanted to take her to India and have her train with a professional yogi. “Yes, I have. I’m very fortunate and blessed. I think you’d love Indian cuisine just as much as Italian. Maybe we’ll visit India together, too. We still have to come back here someday. Let’s not forget that.”
Crystal gazed out the window, admiring the city and the nighttime lights. “Well, if it weren’t for my Uncle Michael, we wouldn’t have gotten to experience this country. I just wish that I had more memories of him. I guess there’s no use regretting the past. I’m just grateful he thought of me. I still don’t know why and probably never will.”
Both of us held up our glasses and toasted to Moldova.
After we finished our meal, we made our way back to our apartment at the President Hotel. Room service had left chocolates on our pillows, and Crystal quickly snatched them up. “This goes against everything that I stand for, but as Annie and I always say, calories don’t count when you’re out of town.”
There was never a day where Crystal didn’t do or say something that I found extremely adorable. “I like that motto! Alright, I’m going to take a shower. Care to join me?”
She seductively unbuttoned her blouse and then casually tossed it onto the chair. “It’s tempting, but I’ll have to pass. I’m exhausted.”
Crystal and I had been quite busy ever since we arrived in Moldova, so I understood why she was so tired. I wished we could have spent more time relaxing. Now that Annie was pregnant, Crystal was working even longer hours at the yoga studio and burning the candle at both ends. Despite her holistic approach to life, I could see how her long hours had been wearing her out, along with the stress about her uncle’s unusual surprise.
After I got out of the shower, I walked back into the bedroom and noticed Crystal was passed out on the bed, sound asleep. She wasn't even under the covers. My shower hadn’t been more than five minutes, just enough to rinse off, so she must have been exhausted.
I carefully covered her with a blanket and gently kissed her on the cheek. Our short trip to Moldova had been magical. As I crawled under the sheet, watching her sleep, I silently prayed the magic would continue once we made it back to River Valley.
19
_____
CRYSTAL
While taking a break after teaching my morning yoga class, I signed onto the student loan portal. It was the first time that I didn’t feel like fainting. The dollar amount on the screen no longer scared me. In just a few days, my bank account would have more than enough money to erase all of my debt and plenty of cash leftover for my life to move forward.
After the trip to Moldova with Gavin, with whom I was in love but had yet to say so, my life would soon be stress-free. Not only was I sleeping better, but eating in my cramped apartment no longer freaked me out. My goals seemed closer than they had ever been before.
In addition to my financial woes being a thing of the past, the other yoga instructors were able to take on the classes that I had picked up for Annie. Hormonal fluctuations had caused her to become extremely fatigued. So she was only teaching the pregnancy yoga classes and taking care of the business end of her studio.
Annie assumed the extra work hadn’t taken an emotional toll on me, too. Since we both practiced holistic health, we should have known how to find the balance between work and our personal lives, right? The truth, however, was much bleaker.
On more than one occasion, I had almost fallen asleep while teaching a few of her classes. I had even taken naps on our office couch, and instead of bottles of water and juices, I was pumping my body full of coffee and energy shots. My body couldn’t continue to burn the candle at both ends and neither could hers.
Now that I was getting the ten million dollars, I had no problem having the other instructors take on more work.
I wrote down the payoff amount on a piece of paper to stick up on my refrigerator. As I patiently waited for the funds to appear in my account, I would use it as a daily reminder that life was about to get much better.
As soon as I put it away in my purse, I looked up to see Annie walking into our office. She looked as though she had been run over by a truck. Her face was as white as a ghost, and Annie grabbed the desk for support. What had me worried, however, was how loud she was moaning.
Annie plopped down on her chair and threw her purse on the desk. “If I ever say that I want another baby, Crystal, kindly smack me across the face.”
I handed her a bottle of water from our mini-fridge. “You poor thing, are you sure you’re alright? Not to be mean, but this is the worst I’ve seen you ever since you got pregnant!”
Annie took a long sip from the water bottle. “Crystal, there are no words to describe the aches and pains that go along with being pregnant. Every joint in my body feels like it’s on fire right now. Everything that I eat either makes me want to puke or gets the job done, and don’t even get me started on my feet.” She slid her shoes off.
“Oh my God, Annie! Your feet are huge!”
“These are the only shoes that fit me, too. I don’t know how I’m going to teach any classes today. Richard had to help me bathe and get dressed this morning, and I almost called to cancel all of my classes. I have never, in my life, been so uncomfortable.”
“Well, maybe your pregnancy yoga will help with your joints today. That always helps, doesn’t it?”
Annie dug into her purse and pulled out a bag of pita chips. “Yeah, maybe. I’m just worried the students will see me in pain and wonder if pregnancy yoga even works. If I can’t walk without moaning and groaning, who knows what sound I’ll make while doing yoga poses.” She held the bag of pita chips up to her nose and grimaced. “I don’t even want to eat because I know I’ll puke, but I have to eat.”
“I’m so sorry. Thank God you weren’t here earlier, though. Some of the students ate before class, and the entire studio stunk.”
Annie started sniffing the air. “God, what is that smell? It’s like hot garbage on bread.”
I looked out the window and nodded to the current class. “One of the older women ate a crab salad sandwich, then told everyone about how it was loaded with onions.”
Annie’s face turned even paler. “I would have puked all over the floor.”
“There’s a big sign out there that clearly says ‘no food allowed,’ but that never stops people from sneaking it in. Maybe a ginger ale or soda water would help you, Annie.”
She shook her head at me while slowly eating the pita chips. “Nothing can help me right now, Crystal. Anyway, what have you been working on?”
“Well, I got the payoff amount for my student loans. Once the funds hit my account, I won’t owe anybody a single dime!”
“That’s fantastic! You must be so excited. Having a large amount of debt is an awful feeling, isn’t it?”
/>
Even though she was my best friend, I had always been slightly jealous of her marrying into the Truman family. “Tell me about it. And with the amount of money that I’m getting, I don’t foresee being in debt anytime soon.”
“Stress does so much physical damage to your body, too. When you’re constantly worrying about something, it releases all of these toxins. People don’t want to believe it, though, so they never take time to decompress and relax. Thank God you and I are health nuts, huh?”
I wanted to tell her that I had been stressed ever since picking up her extra classes, but I kept that to myself. It would break her heart if she knew how tired and overworked I had been.
I grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge. “Speaking of which, Gavin suggested that we visit India sometime. He wants me to try authentic Indian cuisine, but I’m going to try and train with a yogi just like he did.”
Annie looked so happy for me. “That would be amazing, Crystal! Maybe Richard and I could go too, and we could make it a couple’s vacation someday. After the baby is older, of course.”
Before Gavin and I had gone on vacation together, the thought of going away with another couple might have stressed me out. My emotional wall used to be impenetrable, but not anymore.
I watched her lean forward to massage her feet. “That would be so much fun, Annie. Are you sure you should be bending down right now? Here, let me help you.”
Annie took my hand, and instead of leaning forward, she stood straight up. “This isn’t going to work. Let me stand up for a second. God knows my back needs to be stretched.”
As Annie stood up, she let out the loudest cry of pain that I had ever heard.
She squeezed my hand so hard that I thought it was going to break. “Annie, oh my God! What’s wrong? Are you going into labor?”
Annie sat back down in her chair and burst out crying. “Something is wrong, Crystal! Take me to the hospital.”
I took Annie’s hand and walked her out to my car as fast as she could go. It took her nearly five minutes for what would generally be less than a two-minute walk. Every step she took made the pain radiate throughout her body, but she had yet to tell me what was hurting specifically.
After she got into my car, I sent a text message to Richard.
“Annie is in pain. Not sure what it is, but it’s bad. Driving her to the hospital now.”
I had never had much of a lead foot, but I took full advantage of having a Lamborghini and was glad Gavin had dropped it off for me to drive today. We sped to the hospital, and Annie was crying out in pain the entire time. It broke my heart to see her that way, but there was nothing else I could do. By the time we pulled up to the hospital, I had expected to see a baby in my car.
As soon as I told the nurse what was happening, they brought out a wheelchair and ushered her in to see a doctor. I sat in the waiting room and met Richard a few minutes later, who immediately ran back to see what was happening with Annie.
After what seemed to be an eternity, Richard came out to give me an update. “She’s not going into labor, which was our first concern. Annie pulled a muscle.”
“Oh God, no wonder she was in so much pain!”
Richard nodded while getting himself a cup of coffee. “It happens when your muscles are too stiff, and even though she’s a yoga instructor, she has developed bursitis with this pregnancy.”
“That makes sense. So, what’s the game plan now? A pulled muscle can take a while to heal.”
Richard sat down next to me. “They want to keep her overnight, just to monitor her. Everything else seems fine, but being pregnant makes it all the more difficult. Anyway, she said that she wants to see you.”
I nodded and headed back to visit my friend.
She was sitting in a hospital bed, looking much better but still tired. “Hey, Richard said you wanted to see me?”
“Yes, thank you so much for bringing me in here, Crystal. Although, please don’t ever drive that fast again. You almost made me go into labor!”
“I had to, Annie! Do you know how worried I was?”
Annie chuckled while clutching her stomach. “Guess I gave you a good scare, huh?”
“Guess? Are you kidding me? I nearly had a heart attack just by watching you try to stand up!”
She nodded and took my hand. “Anyway, I wanted to know if you could do me a favor?”
I pulled up a chair and sat down next to her bed. “Of course, Annie. I’d do anything for you!”
She let out a big sigh. “The doctor doesn’t want me to work until after the baby is born, and you’re the most experienced employee that I have, and the one I trust the most.”
I had a good idea about what she was going to ask of me, but I kept my poker face on. “That makes sense, Annie. You have to take care of yourself first. What do you need me to do?”
“Everything. I need you to do everything at the yoga studio for me. Now that I can’t work at all, I need you to cover my pregnancy classes. I’ll email you the poses and how the class goes. Please, you’re the only one I trust to do this for me.”
My mind quickly calculated how many pregnancy classes she taught. While it meant working long days, I was grateful Annie had already assigned some of my classes to other instructors. “Of course, Annie. That’s not a problem at all!”
“There’s more, though, Crystal. I need you to take care of the business stuff, too—all of the record keeping and payroll. Of course, I’ll be able to help you from home with any questions that you have, but I just can’t do it anymore. I’m terrified that I’ll pull another muscle while teaching a class, which could be worse than what I went through today. It’s asking a lot of you. We’re talking sixteen-hour days because I don’t do paperwork until the studio is closed.”
All I could do was smile and reassure her that I would take care of the yoga studio. I didn’t want her to stress herself into early labor, and I sure as hell didn’t want her to pull another muscle. She had been there for me throughout my entire life, and now she needed me.
I was determined to be there for Annie, just like Gavin had been for me.
20
_____
GAVIN
Crystal and I had been back in town for a few weeks. Unfortunately, a few days after we had returned to River Valley, Annie had been put on bed rest. I had planned to stop by the studio to see her, but Mr. Truman had asked me to meet him at his house. He didn’t go into specifics about what he needed, but he said it was urgent and to be there as soon as possible. I had been enjoying some much-needed downtime, so I assumed it was some upcoming projects. As much as I enjoyed being paid to just reply to emails, I had to admit, I was starting to go a bit stir-crazy.
I drove up the long driveway that led to the Truman’s mansion, and I was awestruck by all of the beautiful trees. Mrs. Truman had just hired a new gardening service that was working on her property, and I watched, inspired as they dug holes for new plants. If I hadn’t been in real estate, then I could see myself owning a landscaping company.
Several of Mr. Truman’s luxury cars were parked in the driveway that day. They made my BMW convertible look like something out of a junk pile. He was an avid collector of vintage sports cars, a hobby that he had passed onto Richard as he had gotten older. They were nice, but I preferred newer cars. As long as it was classy, that’s all I cared about. My favorite, of course, was Crystal’s Lamborghini.
After I parked, I pulled out my phone to check for text messages from Crystal. Since we had become more serious, we were constantly texting each other throughout the day. I was a bit sad to see that she hadn’t sent me anything in a while, but I assumed she was busy working.
Her work ethic was just one of the many things that I admired about her.
As I got out of my car, Mrs. Truman walked outside wearing a bright red Chanel suit. “Good morning, Mrs. Truman. You look lovely today.”
She swung her Chanel purse over her shoulder and hugged me. “Thank you, Gavin. I’m heading out
to a luncheon with some other ladies, but Mr. Truman is waiting for you inside.”
The Truman’s were always donating to charities, and I was curious. “What’s the luncheon for today?”
“It’s for the local historical society and arts council. We’re trying to get additional funding for preservation of our local landmarks. It’s so important for small towns to preserve their history, wouldn’t you agree? But we are also, and really, more importantly, looking at starting a food bank. With all that’s going on today, so many are in need.”
“That’s one of the many reasons I love River Valley.”
Mrs. Truman nodded while reapplying her lipstick. “Yes, and I know that Julianna is hoping for more funding. She’s been so busy with the food bank lately.”
“Speaking of being busy, I heard about what happened to Annie last night. Crystal’s picking up her yoga classes so she can rest until after the baby is born. I can’t imagine the pain she must be going through right now,” I said.
Mrs. Truman seemed a bit more worried about it than I was, but of course, she’d been pregnant. “I know how much she loves her yoga studio, but it’s so important to rest as much as possible when you’re pregnant. When I was pregnant with my boys, I was always so tired that some days I couldn’t even get out of bed.”
That’s precisely what Crystal had said to me on the phone. “I can’t even imagine what she’s going through, but Crystal said they have Annie’s pain under control, and she’s on mandatory bed rest now.”
Mrs. Truman nodded while putting her lipstick away. “Well, I better get going. I need to pick up a few bottles of wine along the way.”
She gave me a quick kiss on the cheeks before leaving.
When I went inside, I found Mr. Truman waiting for me in the foyer. Since he worked from home most of the time, he had resorted to wearing sweats and a t-shirt. I chuckled at the contrast between the two.
He immediately ushered me into his office. “Gavin, please sit down. First of all, how have you been doing? I know we’ve had you on a bit of a breather.”
